Along many coastal areas of the United States, and in certain lakes and estuaries, fishermen fish from small boats in shallow water. In these types of fishing areas, there are extensive shallow, sandy-bottomed or grassy-bottomed regions, generally referred to as flats, that are populated by various sport fish. Fishermen who fish these flats often use one or another of several methods of holding a boat at a selected location. These methods include the use of conventional anchors, the use of a pole shoved into the bottom and secured to the boat, or other methods.
As described by Oliverio et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 6,041,730, the use of anchors such as a Danforth or a similar type of anchor by flats fishermen has several shortcomings. First, such types of anchor do not firmly fix the position of the boat so that the boat can may drift at the end of the anchor line. Second, when setting and retrieving an anchor, the anchor's flukes may rip sea grass out of the bottom and cause ecological damage. Finally, when the anchor is hauled in, mud and sea grass from the anchor can foul the inside of the boat.
Other means of securing a boat in shallow water include a pole-like structure to which the both may be secured. In addition to Oliverio et al., other references dealing with similar means include U.S. Pat. No. 458,473 wherein MacDonald describes a jointed structure hinged to a submersible coastal artillery battery and comprising a pole inserted into the bottom of a shallow body of water. Other elongate pole-like anchoring mechanisms not hingedly secured to a vessel are taught by Mestas et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,960,064 and by Stokes in U.S. Pat. No. 4,702,047. Mechanisms other than anchors that are hingedly attached to a vessel hull are taught, inter alia, by Alexander, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,816,521 and by Sherrill in U.S. Pat. No. 3,046,928, both of whom show stem stabilizers, and by Doerffer, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,237,808, who shows a braking device.
The structure of Oliverio et al. requires an upper arm and a lower arm which together form a parallelogram, with one side of the parallelogram anchored to the transom of the boat, and the opposite side of the parallelogram retaining a rigidly fixed anchor pole. With this structure, the total range of movement of the mechanism is by necessity less than 180°. This can limit the depth at which the anchor may be effectively used. The structure shown and described in Oliverio et al. is rigidly dictated in the mounting of the parallelogram to the transom of the boat. In order to adapt the mounting of the structure to a boat with any slant other than that predetermined by the structure requires shims and adapter plates to arrange the anchor pole to the proper deployed position. The Oliverio et al. structure also has numerous pinch points that can damage equipment, injure people and become fouled with weeds or debris in the water.
Thus, there remains a need for a shallow water anchor that provide a range of movement of 180°, or even more, to maximize the effective depth of the anchor. The anchor should preferably be light-weight to make the anchor easier to use and make the most of the prime mover of the mechanism. The mounting structure of the apparatus should also easily adapt the mount to any reasonable slant of the transom relative to the surface of the water. The anchor device should also have a minimal number of pinch points exposed to users, equipment and matter in the water. The present invention is directed to filling these needs and others in the art.